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So I wrote to Pomona admissions because my daughter is considering applying there and got the usual stilted attorney-approved language. I have no problem with free speech and I'm not looking to see 19 year old heads roll. Indulge in tasteless, bad-mannered "humor" designed to belittle or manifest contempt for marginalized and powerless populations and karma and the good Lord will deal with you sooner or later. But what I can't seem to get from Pomona is an acknowledgement that this must be causing some anxiety and stress to their students of color and the LGBTQA community. If my daughter (we are African-American) found out her roommate was a member of that group, she would be upset to say the least. And I would be sick about it. I send my kid all the way across the country and this is what she's living with? So what are they doing for those kids? Does anybody know?

I don’t think Pomona has a good answer to your question @bluemama . The effort to paint political correctness as a public menace has been very successful. We live in an Orwellian world. We are led to believe that being “politically correct” is unpatriotic and shameful. Meanwhile, being a racist or a homophobe is courageous and heroic, as if defending the indefensible is itself a noble act. Pomona is simply doing its best to avoid being called “politically correct” which is today a badge of shame.

Thanks for your response, PragmaticMom. That's sad though. To me political correctness is just about offering others the respect of addressing them as they choose to identify themselves. It's just what good humans do. Disappointed in Pomona and a few other institutions. Guess I'll leave it to my child to decide.

@maya54 That's a ridiculous take. The N word and "you suck" are completely different. Congrats on being a lawyer, but it doesn't take a genius to know that hate speech is protected under the first amendment. Using the N word could very well be used as harassment. Walking up to a teacher and cussing him/her out or making sexual advances through words fall under free speech doesn't mean it's not punishable.

Memes are here to stay; Berkeley’s meme page has over 141k followers and now the university will be offering a course on it (and a Meme Studies Department) come fall taught by none other than Professor Meme Lord

UCBalumnus,I thought that might be satirical but more likely not as memes are a subject gaining traction and going from a joke to actual courses. Wouldn’t surprise me to see it in the near future at more universities. Please post if you find other links to more info